Alpine Coach Bios

Richard Haner - Club Director, 14 Falcons

Richard started his volleyball career while playing club volleyball in college. After graduating from BYU he moved to California where he continued to play and stay involved in the sport. When his family moved to Portland in 1989 he began refereeing to stay up with the sport as well as coaching a middle school team. In 1996 he was contacted to coach the JV team at La Salle HS where he coached for 4 years. Richard was then promoted to Head Coach at La Salle HS in 2000 where he coached until 2008. He is currently the Head Coach at Rex Putnam High School. Richard started Alpine Volleyball Club in 1996 in a small cafe with several moms and players that wanted to continue playing year around.

Richard is a USA Volleyball CAP II certified coach and has spent time in Colorado Springs learning form the top coaches in the world. Richard served on the CEVA High Performance committee helping to promote the sport and identify elite players for the USA Volleyball pipeline. He was voted Coach of the Year in the Tri-Valley Conference in 2002. Richard coaches the 14's Falcons team and they had their best years in 06' and 08' finishing 7th in Power League.

Michelle Allen

Michelle has played volleyball since 1997 when she moved from California to Vancouver Washington. She graduated from Evergreen High School which she was a four year letterman in volleyball. Club teams she has played for are Greater Columbia, Portland and Cowlitz. She just ended her college career at Warner pacific College which she is still attending and will graduate in the fall of '07 with two majors (Health and Human Kinetics and Education).

Michelle has been selected to the NAIA Region I All-Region team, a feat not accomplished by any other volleyball player since the return of athletics in 1999. The recognition comes after being selected First Team All-Conference for the Cascade Conference.

Allen was the clear leader of the Knights team the 2006 season, finishing her career with 1026 kills for WPC. Allen finished the season on top of the Cascade Conference in Kills per game at 4.76 (474 kills). She is also 10th in the conference in digs per game at 3.91 (348 digs). For the season Allen had 424 kills, 348 digs, 32 blocks, 28 assists and 20 service aces.

Michelle has coached for four years now. Her first year she assisted Cowlitz top 16 team and is making this her third year with Alpine.

Jeff Folsom

Jeff began assisting at Gresham High School in 1986-1989 where the Gophers won three State Championships under Head Coach Guy Enriques (1986) and Rod Jones (1988-1989). Assisted from 1987-1989 at Nike Northwest Jr’s volleyball club and played Men’s Club Volleyball in Vancouver, WA from 1987-1990. He then became the Freshman Coach at Parkrose High School in 1990 under Head Coach Carol Dayburough. From 1990-1992, Jeff went into the United States Marine Corps where he coached and played six man indoor volleyball for Camp Pendleton and played two man beach volleyball. In 2003-2005 Jeff coached for North Clackamas Volleyball Club. In 2005 he coached the Freshman team at Clackamas High School under Head Coach Jim Stultz. In 2006 Jeff joined Alpine Volleyball Club as a substitute coach and is now coaching the 16U Avenge team. Jeff has spent the last two years (from 2006-current) as the Head Volleyball Coach at Gladstone High School where he is in the process of building up their volleyball program.

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Latoya Harris - 18 Aces

LaToya Harris accumulated 12 varsity letters at Parkrose High in Portland, Ore. As an outside hitter/middle blocker on the volleyball team, she had such an outstanding career the school retired her jersey at the end of her prep career. She also lettered four times as a wing and post player on the basketball team, leading the conference with a 19.3 points per game average and scoring 39 points in one game. Her favorite sport in high school was fastpitch softball where she earned all-league honors all four years and all-state accolades twice.

As a member of the Washington State volleyball team, Harris earned three All-Pac-10 First Team honors, one of only 19 Pac-10 players to be honored three-times, and the first Cougar since All-American Sarah Silvernail.

A three-year team captain, Harris played in the NCAA Championship Tournament three consecutive seasons with the team advancing to the Elite Eight her senior year. She was one of three Cougars selected to the 2002 NCAA East Region All-Tournament Team.

Harris is the third Cougar in school history to reach both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Her 1,459 kills and 1,178 digs both rank third on the all-time school lists, and her 143 service aces is the best in WSU history. She is also 10th in school career blocking records with 254 total blocks.

The petite player known for her 31-inch vertical leaping ability as well as her strong left-handed hitting, Harris earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors twice in her career. During her senior season, Harris was named MVP of the Cougar Challenge, the Nanook Classic, and the USF Molten Golden Gate Classic tournaments. Her teammates selected her the WSU team MVP.

Last but not least is Harris' notable singing talents. She sang the national anthem a cappella prior to several home matches during her WSU career. Harris completed her undergraduate degree in of 2003. She remained at WSU as an assistant coach and then moved to Portland where Latoya is the current Head Coach at Barlow High School .

Hayden Sweet

Hayden Sweet grew up in Corvallis, Oregon and graduated from Corvallis High School in 2001. She was a four-year varsity letterman, serving as team captain for the Spartan Volleyball team for two years. She also received league recognition and awards during her time at Corvallis High. Trained as both a setter and an outside hitter, Hayden competed for the Corvallis club team for several years, before joining Emerald City Volleyball Club in Eugene for two seasons. Hayden also coaches the Junior Varsity team at Barlow High School, and assists under Varsity head coach LaToya Harris. She coached the Alpine 15U Avenge team last season and is excited to return to coach at Alpine this season. She will be assisted by Mark LaFontaine, a trained beach and indoor volleyball player. Mark competed with the men's club team at University of Oregon, taking them to the Men's National Tournament during his career. He has also competed within the Northwest beach volleyball community for over 10 years.

Jeff Robison

Jeff was first introduced to competitive volleyball in high school where a professional co-ed league was part of an assembly promoting the sport. After seeing the international Olympic level athletes at that event Jeff fell in love with the sport and has been playing, officiating and coaching since. His playing career includes playing in college with the San Diego State Aztecs, professionally with the International Volleyball Association and on an ongoing basis with various club teams from across the country. He is still an active player in the northwest and regularly plays at the annual USAV Adult Open tournament. Jeff has coached adults, girls and boys volleyball with both club and school teams since 1980. He was most recently the head coach and director for the Canby Volleyball Club where he led their top teams to their best finishes in the CEVA power leagues in the history of the club. He is currently active in coaching volleyball in his community as an assistant coach for the Canby high school program and has been since 2000. Jeff is returning to club volleyball after taking a couple years off to devote time to his family.

Derek Haner

Derek is a graduate of Pacific University in 2006, where he led in most statistical categories as a pitcher for four years. He has played volleyball for several years and began coaching at Alpine last year with his wife Sarah. He was an varsity assistant at Rex Putnam High School this year and is ready to take on the Extreme Team this year

Ashli Itami

Amy Bishop

Molly Web

I've played volleyball since 2000. I was a three-year letter award winner for coach Judy Beard at Kittitas High School in Kittitas WA, where I also participated in basketball and softball for all four years. I have played club for Team Yakima and Team Ellensburg. I graduated HS in 2006 and started school at Chemeketa Community College(Salem) where I played volleyball both years for Ric Layman and recieved my Associate of Arts - Oregon Transfer Degree. I transfered from Chemeketa to Warner Pacific College where I am currently finishing up my senior season of volleyball as libero/ds. I will graduate in the spring of 2011 with a degree in Health and Human Kinetics and Education.

Michelle Egan

Hometown: Garden Grove, Calif.
Previous School: Pacifica HS
Major: Health and Human Kinetics/Education

2008 (Sophomore): Recorded 55 kills, 14 aces, 29 digs, and 23 blocks (3 solo 20 assist).

2007 (Freshman): Swung for 89 kills - a 1.00 average per set ... also had 27 aces, 33 digs, and 66 blocks (4 solo, 62 assist).

High School: Participated in volleyball, swimming, and water polo at Pacifica HS

Samantha Kolakowski

Hometown: Vancouver, Wash.
Previous School: Evergreen HS
Major: Health and Human Kinetics/Education

2008 (Sophomore): Appeared in all 21 matches as the Knights primary setter ... registered 615 assists, an 8.54 per set average ... led team with 23 service aces ... also had 146 digs and 6 block assists.

2007 (Freshman): Appeared in 24 matches ... registered 50 kills, 20 assists, and a team high 287 digs (3.46 per set) ... also had 24 service aces, and 10 blocks (4 solo, 6 assist).

High School: Played 4 years of volleyball for coach Lori Piland at Evergreen HS in Vancouver ... 1st Team All-League and 2nd Team All-Region for the Plainsmen ... Also an All-League and All-Region softball player at Evergreen for coach Bob Dean.

Whitney Valenta

Hometown: Spanaway, Wash.
Previous School: Graham-Kapowsin HS/Green River CC
Major: Health and Human Kinetics

Green River CC: Played 2 seasons for the Gators under coach Kyle Densley ... Team captain as a freshman and sophomore ... NWAACC 1st Team All-Western Region as a sophomore ... also played basketball for the Gators.

High School: Played 4 years of volleyball and basketball at Graham-Kapowsin HS ... team captain and MVP, 1st Team All-League as a junior and senior ... also All-League honors in basketball

Jessica Bruce

I've been playing volleyball since 1994. I was a 3 year varsity letter player in volleyball and a 4 year varsity letter player in basketball for my high school in Seattle, WA were I grew up. I am trained as a setter, but at just barely 5'4" I can hit with the best of them. Along with playing for my high school I played for Space Needle and Wahine volleyball clubs. I decided not to play competitively in college, but did continue to play in friendly rec leagues. Since graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 2004 with a BFA in Photography and Design and a BA in Religion I have kept myself busy by playing in adult city leagues around Seattle and Portland.

I've always had a passion for working with youth and a love for volleyball. So coaching seemed like the perfect next step in my volleyball involvement. 2008 was my first year coaching club for Oregon City U-16s. Following the club season I was asked to coach their freshman team. I have enjoyed my coaching experience so much I'm back for another club season, this year with Alpine. I'm excited for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of young ladies and look forward to this season!

Michelle Bohr

I grew up in Clackamas, Oregon and graduated from Clackamas High School in 2008. I was a three-year varsity player starting as a defensive specialist for two years and completing my senior year as a rightside hitter. I played with the North Clackamas Volleyball Club for four years as well. I am currently attending my second year at Concordia University majoring in Early Childhood Education and look forward to many years of coaching in the future.

Stacie Brunner

I was born in Tacoma. Washington. Went to high school at Wilson High School, where I played all four years on the varsity volleyball team. After graduating in 2004, I continued my education and volleyball career at Western Oregon University. After two years at WOU, I transferred to Pacific Lutheran University. At PLU I participated on the volleyball team where we won our conference each year I played. I was named all conference honorable mention both seasons and was also the team captain my senior season.

Since my sophomore year in college, I have been coaching club volleyball. First, at Salem Volleyball Club (Salem, OR) and then Above the Net Volleyball Club (Puyallup, WA). Also, I was an Assistant Coach & JV coach for Tacoma Baptist High school. During the past year I graduated college, got married, and moved to Oregon.